Arrival in San Cristobal, Galapagos
Gaviota
Sat 5 Apr 2014 17:47
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00:58.834S 89:36.772W
We arrived in San Cristobel at 11.25 am local time
on Tuesday, April 1st and no April Fools jokes, it must be the first time ever
we have arrived in daylight after a long sail. Our agent spotted us as we
dropped anchor and within an hour was on board with the National Parks
delegation - all 6 of them! The boat was searched for any banned fruits,
vegetables or bugs and we were instructed on the National Park rules, we have 30
days and can visit 3 islands at a whopping cost of $1,094!!! So
after cold drinks all round they left happy and Syd and I
collapsed!
We started exploring San Cristobel the next day and
visited the Parks Visitor Centre which opened out into an amazing trail over the
lava field behind to some lovely beaches where we swam with seal pups - seals
are everywhere here and take priority over humans, a couple of nights ago we had
a midnight caller of the seal variety, Syd looked out of the back window and a
young seal had taken up residence in our dinghy which we had upended on the back
of the boat to repel borders (did'nt work), it had the intention of joining us,
but the thought of sharing the bed with one did not really appeal, so a naked
Syd rushed up on deck and the seal got the message and launched itself
overboard!.
All the animnals here are amazingly tame and
are happy to come close to see you, so we have had close encounters with giant
loggerhead turtles, seals, marine iguanas and lots of unusual birds unique to
this place. We discovered a wonderful vegetable market with a better
selection of locally grown produce than Panama City! Now the bikes are
together for the first time in 6 months, so we are ready to get
cycling..........we hope!
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